TUSCALOOSA - Let the record show that the catch everyone who wears crimson on fall Saturdays had been anticipating for two-plus years occurred with 11:48 to go in the second quarter of the opening game of the 2010 season.

Without the benefit of Stickum but with the help of every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame, Julio Jones provided the highlight moment in Alabama's 48-3 rout of San Jose State on Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

With the Crimson Tide already up 21-3, the junior picked A.J. McCarron's second collegiate pass out of the air with his outstretched left hand before falling into the north end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.

"Honestly, I went crazy," right guard Barrett Jones said. "That's one of the greatest plays I've ever seen. It was like 'Wow. Unbelievable.' You think I'd be used to it, because he does stuff like that in practice all of the time."

Jones, who called the second-quarter grab his best catch yet, confirmed as much afterward.

"I've made catches like that in practice, but people don't get to see those," he said.

For much of last season, people didn't see Jones get his hands on the ball as much as they might have expected. Bothered by nagging injuries, as well as plenty of extra attention, he had only 43 receptions in 13 games - nine of which came dink-and-dunk style against Auburn.

"Last year at the beginning of the season we struggled a little bit on getting the ball to him," quarterback Greg McElroy said. "Then things got a little bit dicey there in the middle of the season."

But, he added, getting the ball to Jones more this season "is a point of emphasis."Alabama proved as much on its opening series against the Spartans. Jones caught passes on the first three plays and added a rush for 13 yards as the Crimson Tide breezed to an early touchdown.

"We just worked on the coverages we were going to get early on," said Jones, who finished with six receptions for 93 yards and the score. "We just took what they gave us."

Coach Nick Saban said San Jose State showed a loaded box, not unlike the look a lot of teams tried to run against Alabama last season. If nothing else, what Jones and the Crimson Tide did against the Spartans might make future defenses think twice about it.

"We tried to take some things that would complement our running game, that would be helpful for people not to be able to load the box," he said. "If we get certain looks, we just throw it out there. (Julio's) a great big target and a good guy running with the ball."

He's not bad catching deep routes, either.

"I thought he made a great touchdown catch," Saban said. "I think those types of vertical routes are the things we'd like to really get him involved with because of his size and strength."